The Arab Organization for Industrial and Metallurgical Development said in a report published Saturday that failure to recycle industrial leftovers was costing Arab countries $5 billion annually, reported the official Kuwaiti news agency, KUNA.
The agency quoted the report as estimating the leftovers of industries in Arab states to exceed 49 million tons, which can be used to produce more than 14 million tons of paper worth over $2 billion.
Recycling leftovers, the report concludes, can also be used to produce about two million tons of scrap metal worth $135 million, or 75,000 tons of plastic worth $1.4 billion, or 200 million tons of cloth worth $110 million, or huge quantities of organic fertilizers worth over $1 billion.
Not only will these opportunities be wasted if recycling is not adopted seriously, the report maintains, but the loss extends to having to spend large sums of money to bury industrial waste and leftovers. Each year, Arab states spend over $2.5 billion to bury waste from the agricultural and livestock industries, the report indicates.
Arab states invest a meager $200 dollars in recycling industrial waste and leftovers, the report asserts, adding that incentives must be given to industries to take up recycling in a pragmatic manner.
Arab ministers of industry and environment recently discussed recycling at the Arab League headquarters and agreed on implementing various policies to encourage the practice, cut down on waste, and protect the environment, said KUNA – Albawaba.com
